The Guardian of Hope
by BaneoftheShade
Summary: When a young misfit adolescent decides to join the military, his life is changed forever. PS- this isn't actually from War and Peace, it's about the war in Iraq.
1. Chapter 1

War was HELL. Life was HELL. At least it was for me. And why I had applied for the Military, I would never know; would never understand, All I knew was that it was a chance to turn my life around, and it did. Forever. For you to understand, you would have had to have been there. Let me take you back about 20 years, to the unmerciful deserts of Iraq.

It was 8:00 hours. My team and I had been dispatched to do a quick scan of the perimeter, then plant the minor explosives. My current rank was Master Sergeant.

We were about to launch a frontal and behind attack on the rebel army in the nearby village.

We had made our way around the small mound of sand that concealed our camp, checking constantly for mines. we silently walked into the first building, a small rebel weapons storage facility, and did a sweep of the building. It was empty. A quick sweep of the whole village confirmed his worst suspicion.

Just yesterday there had been a rebel army of approximately 500 taking refuge here. But now it was empty. Deserted.

That could only mean one thing. The rebels had picked up on their plan. It was an ambush!

Right on cue, mortar fire rained down on the battalion, causing them to scatter like so many ants. I tried to run, as well as many of the men under my temporary command. Many were too slow. Almost none survived. Out of our 100 men, only of them made it to cover in time. Bleeeeewpppp! Fweeeeppptt! BOOOM! Fwwwweeeewww! BOOM! BAM! FWWEEEEWWWW!when the assault finally died down, we were shaken. I took a step towards the nearest wounded soldier and fell, pain splintering up my leg. Dots appeared before my eyes, the blood rushed to my head, my stomach turned to molten lead, and my head swam in the clouds. When my few comrades made their way over, I turned to see the ever growing sandy puddle of blood collecting near me and I swear I almost fainted. As a medic appeared by my side, I thought on how that was it. they were going to send me home, I would no longer have the chance to do my part.

But that was when I heard her scream.


	2. Chapter 2

I don't know why I did it. Why I immediately shot up, running full speed to the sound of her voice, completely disregarding the hole in my leg. All I knew was that I had to get there; to get to wherever she was.

When I got to the building she was in, my head did a spin. The whole building was on fire, the roof about to cave in! Yet some instinct drove me on and I dashed inside. "Help! Please someone help me!" I heard her scream; she was in the very back.

I dashed past a burning door, through a hole made by the explosions, and into a small prison. There she was chained to the wall, the flames inching ever closer to her feet.

"Please, Help!" she said when she saw me.

Now don't get me wrong, I wanted to help her. BUT HOW?

Even before I had finished the thought, my legs were moving, shocking even me. Since when was I _brave_? I shot over the flames and brought out my knife, picking the lock. Wait, since when did I know how to do that? I picked her up, running for my life as well as hers. The roof behind us started to collapse, shingles and debris raining down, chasing after us. So I threw her out of the front door, just as the roof caved in. BOOM!


	3. Chapter 3

At first everything was dark. There was a great searing pain at the back of my neck and my leg. I could hear someone in the distance, but it sounded like they were thousands of miles away. And then I opened my eyes. Everything was in ruins. The once beautiful yet gruesome building that had stood here was now gone; replaced by a pile of rubble and ash. I tried to get up, but a bolt of pain shot up my leg. I looked down to find a puddle of blood that was growing at an alarming rate. I knew that I had to get out of there or I would slowly bleed to an excruciatingly painful death.

Ok, I could do this. I put one hand out, then the other, then the other, and soon I was near the one small hole that let light flow in. seeing this gave me hope. I grabbed the nearest boulder, a large rock about the size of my head, and used it to level my upper body with the rock. "Guys! Over here; over hahckh-"I tried to shout, but I was to week. The last thing I hear was my team's voices, closer than before. The last thing I saw was a beautiful girl's face, towering over me as the light started to fade.

I was dead. I had to be. I was either dead and in heaven or dreaming. At one point there was one of my fallen comrades at my side; and later, that same beautiful girl. Yeah, I was definitely dead and in heaven. Since when did beautiful girls feed me and care for my wounds? Wait wounds! That's when I woke up.

I was in a makeshift tent, somewhere in the desert. The heat suddenly hit me like a truck. Ok, forget about heaven, I was probably in hell. But then I saw her. She had shining blue-grey eyes, a small smile played upon her lips, and dark brown hair braided down the back of her neck. Next to her stood some of my team members who I had thought dead. Maybe hell wasn't so bad after all.


	4. Chapter 4

"Guys", I croaked, "you're alright! I thought you were dead."

"Nah, not us." Many replied.

"Where are we?" I asked them.

But it was her time to speak up.

"Could you give me a moment with him?" she asked them. Why was I the _only_ one that was surprised to hear that?

As soon as they had left, she came and knelt by my cot.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You saved me", she replied, "even though it almost cost you your life."

At her words my vision tunneled, I thought back to the day when it was raining fire and ash, as well as blood.

"I don't know, I just did." I told her trying to keep calm. I had acted totally unlike myself back there, and it wasn't even by my own consent. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how right she was. I could have died, in many more ways than just bleeding to death.

So why did I do it?

But before I could say anything else, the edges of my vision started to become ever darker, and I slowly slipped into a deep slumber.


End file.
